by Brian Powers 景一

編者注：很多學生都害怕把外語大聲說出來，為什么？是害怕犯錯嗎？或者是害怕尷尬的沉默？不管是什么原因，大多數(shù)外語學習者都有這樣的尷尬和恐懼。那么我們能做些什么來減少這種情況呢？

◆Use voice recordings

Nobody likes to hear themselves on a recording. Unfortunately if you want to improve your pronunciation， you need to know where youre at currently. There are many tools that allow you to record your own sentences or vocabulary and either share them with a learning partner， or simply use them yourself as a reference1 point to test your ever improving pronunciation.

Once recorded， play back your past performances and speak out loud to yourself—in front of a mirror if possible， to perfect the pronunciation. It can sometimes give you the illusion that youre speaking with another person.

◆使用錄音

沒有人喜歡聽自己聲音的錄音。不幸的是，如果你想改善你的發(fā)音，你就需要知道你現(xiàn)在的情況。有很多工具可以幫你錄下自己讀的句子或詞匯，你要么與學習伙伴分享錄音，要么干脆自己將它們作為參照物，來測試你不斷改進的發(fā)音。

如果錄音了，你可以回放你的錄音，并且對著自己大聲說——如果可能的話，可以站在在鏡子前這么做，來改善自己的發(fā)音。這有時會給你一種你在和別人說話的錯覺。

◆It wont be as bad as you think it will be

People claim2 all the time that part of the reason theyre afraid to speak a foreign language out loud， either in public or via a language exchange is because theyre nervous that the other person（s） will make fun of them or judge them harshly3 for their inadequacies4.

Youre going to embarrass yourself. It will happen， and when it does it wont be as bad as you think it will be. When it happens it will probably be funnier than you expected. Youll have a laugh， and move on with life.

How many times have you embarrassed yourself in public using your native language？ How many times did you say something to someone you just met that may have been taken the wrong way？

We all do these all the time in our native languages. Stop worrying so much about what other people might think of you. Youre just learning a foreign language. All you have to do is convince5 yourself that it doesnt matter.

◆沒你想的那么糟糕

人們總是聲稱，他們害怕在公共場合或語言交流的過程中大聲說外語的部分原因是，擔心其他人會取笑他們，或嚴厲地評判他們的不足之處。

你會讓自己尷尬。這種事兒會發(fā)生的，而當它發(fā)生的時候，事情沒你想象的那么糟糕。事情可能會比你想的更有趣。你們都會開懷大笑，然后繼續(xù)生活。

你有多少次在公共場合用母語說了些讓自己尷尬的話？你有多少次對你剛認識的人說了一些可能被誤會的話？

我們總是用母語在做這些事情。別擔心別人會怎么看你。你只不過在學一種外語。你要做的就是讓自己相信這不重要。

◆Youll just have to start

I wish there was something more comforting， more helpful， to say than “just do it”.

Its not that easy. All the preparation in the world isnt always enough to get everyone fully prepared for their first real conversations in a new language， and theres nothing really for it except to just do it first.

Starting to speak to another person is the hardest part. Once youve begun， you will begin to realize that youre dealing with another human being who typically wants to see you succeed.

◆你只能開始

真希望有什么比“就這么做”更讓人欣慰、更有幫助的話可以說。

這并不是那么容易。世界上所有的準備工作并不總是足以讓每個人做好充分準備去第一次用一種新的語言進行真正的對話，而除了先就這樣做，別無他法。

開始和別人說話是最困難的部分。一旦你開始了，你就會開始意識到你在和另一個人打交道，他通常希望看到你成功。

◆Conclusion

Once youve started speaking confidently with real people， everything becomes down hill from there. Everything from complex grammar to huge words and difficult cultural concepts will come together with far more ease if you have the self-confidence to just reach out and communicate.

So seriously， go give it a shot！

◆結論

一旦你開始自信地和真人交談，從那開始一切都會變得更加簡單。只要你有自信去與人接觸和交流，無論是復雜的語法，龐大的詞匯量，還是難理解的文化概念，一切都會變得更加容易。

所以說真的，去試試吧！

（英語原文選自：www.latg.org）

1. reference [■] n. 參考，參照

2. claim [■] v. 宣稱

3. harshly [■] adv. 嚴厲地;刺耳地

4. inadequacy [■] n. 不足;缺點

5. convince [■] vt. 說服;使確信